NA body passes bill for open balloting in Senate election.

ISLAMABAD -- The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Thursday passed the bill for open balloting in the Senate Election.

The meeting of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice was held under the chairmanship of Riaz Fatyana.

The committee in its less than half an hour meeting, considered the bill: 'The Constitution (Twenty Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2020' and recommended with majority that the bill may be passed by the National Assembly.

The opposition members of the committee opposed the sudden voting and protested what they termed 'bulldozing' of the bill. However, Fatyana, on the other hand, sought consent of the participants on the bill.

Later on, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan while addressing a press conference at the Press Information Department (PID) said the three amendments to the Constitution would be presented in the Parliament next week ahead of the upcoming Senate elections.

Awan said a road map had been given to the political parties in the Parliament to stop the horse trading and buying of votes in elections.

He further said Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto signed the Charter of Democracy in May 2006 and one of its points was that indirect elections should be open and identifiable votes should be cast in it.

He went on to say that the reforms were a national agenda and nobody would want to get senators elected through use of money or corruption. He said the opposition parties did not support...